Overview

To better understand and measure the impact generated by trade development interventions, in 2016 ITC conducted its first formal impact evaluation, as a pilot for testing and customizing ITC's impact assessment methods.
The impact evaluation for the NTF II Uganda project (2010-2013), taking into account the necessary time lapse for the expected impact to mature, revealed one solid example on the long-term impact generated at SME, trade support institutions, and policy advocacy levels.
In terms of collecting data and enabling comparisons, the impact assessment on NTF II Uganda project benefited from three critical factors related to project management: (i) a functional monitoring function with the two implementation partners in the country, (ii) a maturing period after completion for long-term results to realize, and (iii) continued operation (a new project phase) in the same sector after project completion.
The impacts generated by NTF II on the coffee sector in Uganda and IT/ITES sector in Bangladesh are impressive. For example, the collective marketing promoted by NUCAFE has enabled smallholder coffee farmers to earn annual income of USD 1,808 per household from coffee growing, about USD 1,125 more than non-project farmers; and exports to EU have increased by 355 percent from 2010 to 2015. The impact is also reflected in national policy advocacy, as evidenced in the recently released National Coffee Policy and Coffee Strategy 2016-2020.
In explaining the major factors behind the impact, what appeared often in evaluations is that engagement with a motivated private-sector implementation partner is critical to servicing the end beneficiaries in trade development and to sustaining the project benefits.
Another factor explaining strong impact is the improved value chain approach. In these cases, ITC's value chain development projects built more organized and inclusive value chain models in selected sectors; these models were well connected with international demands and buyers, and they ensured that smallholder beneficiaries actually benefited from the profits generated by increased production.